College Boys
by Devi-Yosh
Summary: Little one-shot stories about Russell, Vinnie, and Sunil and their adventures as they attend Littlest University with their friends. (This is a story where the humans are teachers and the pets are human students. The series was adopted from my friend LuLucario, who was originally going to turn it into a YouTube web series. May contain mild language from time to time.)
1. Work it Off

It was a beautiful day in Downtown City. College students filed out of Littlest University as they had all finished their due work or tests for their classes, and they were off to either go home for the weekend or hang out somewhere in small groups of friends. Three particular students of Littlest University were among them, making their way to the local sweet shop, Sweet Delights.

One of them was a young man named Russell Ferguson. He was one of the smartest and most academic students in the entire university, always making As on his tests. He always dressed formally, his trademark outfit a bright orange suit and pants, brown shoes, and green tie tucked neatly under his white undershirt. His brown hair was always a little on the messy side, however, for he could never get it to cooperate no matter how many hair products he uses; it would always result in it spiking out.

Another member of the group was a tall young man named Sunil Nevla. He and his older brother Shahrukh Nevla moved from their home in India a few years back with their parents and younger sister to attend high school and college in America. Sunil, unlike his brother, was a very shy and cowardly man, yet he loved to show off his magic tricks. He usually wore a blue sweater, dark blue jeans, and black shoes, and his short hair was dyed blue with a lighter blue streak running down the middle.

The third member of the group, the short one, was a young man named Vinnie Terrio. No one really knows how he managed to stay in Littlest University, let alone make it in in the first place. He rarely did his work, he'll sleep in class a lot, and he almost always fails his tests; whenever he doesn't fail he'll just barely pass with a D or low C. He's also known by the other students as "the dumbest student at Littlest University", yet Vinnie isn't really fazed by any of this; he himself knows he's lazy, but he doesn't care. He wears a bright green vest with fingerless gloves, dark green pants, and white and bright green shoes, and he has many colorful pins on his vest. His green pompadour slicks back neatly with the help of tons of hair gel, and he has quite a few chest hairs poking out of his darker green t-shirt.

The three friends were usually a group of six friends, consisting of Shahrukh, Esteban - a Mexican exchange student - and Shivers - the youngest member who loved to hoard things. Today, however, it was just these three.

Vinnie growled as he slammed the door to the sweets shop open and stomped inside. "I never wanna take another American History test for as long as I live! Mr. Jones always gives me Ds or Fs on them!"

"Maybe if you actually studied like I did you would have an A rather than a failing grade," Russell grunted as he walked in, Sunil following close behind.

"Oh, Russell," the Indian man smirked. "You know that Vinnie's physically unable to study unless you want him snoring on the notes.

"Ha, ha," Vinnie growled, shooting a glare at his best friend as he walked up to the front counter. "That was so funny I forgot to laugh."

"Welcome to Sweetsies-Treatsies-Sweet Delights, guys!" a giddy voice greeted the three. They smiled as Buttercream Sundae, one of the owners of the sweet shop, hopped up to the counter holding a pencil and notepad. She wore a buttercream-yellow dress with pink candy-like markings dappling it, as well as white stockings and brown dress shoes. She wore her yellow and brown-tipped hair in two ponytails held by a peppermint-shaped bow. "What're your rumble-tumbles rumbling for?"

Sunil began, smiling shyly. "Could I trouble you for a gummy worm chocolate pudding cup?"

"Not at all, Sunny!" Buttercream chirped, writing down the young man's order. Ignoring his retort of, "I hate being called that..." she turned to Russell when he began to speak.

"I'll just have a low-fat frozen strawberry yogurt, please."

"His mother put him on a diet," Sunil whispered to Buttercream jokingly, leaning over the counter, and Russell immediately yanked him back and an angry glare.

"She did not! And I am _not_ fat!" he shouted at the laughing Indian.

"Got it!" the store owner squeaked. "How about you, Vinnie-bo-Binnie?"

Vinnie grinned and began counting off his fingers as he listed the sweets. "I'd like a candy corn sherbet cookie cup; a rocky road sugar cone; a cream-filled cupcake with extra sprinkles; a frozen chocolate banana bar; a dozen yogurt-dipped strawberries; two deep-fried jelly donuts; a macadamia marshmallow brownie; and a large mixed berry smoothie with a swirly straw!"

Russell and Sunil both stared at the short young man in shock as Buttercream blinked a few times. Her startled expression was immediately wiped away by a large grin. "You got it! Your yummy-nummies will be out soon, balloon-goons!"

The girl skipped into the kitchen, humming joyfully. Meanwhile, Vinnie noticed his friends still staring at him wide-eyed, and he shrugged. "What? Failing a test works up quite an appetite."

* * *

About an hour passed, and the table the three friends sat at had become a complete mess, mainly thanks to Vinnie. There were wrappers, cups, and spoons with curbs and splotches of ice cream dappled on the table. Vinnie pushed a pile of wrappers aside to place his finished smoothie on the table, and he leaned back in his seat, placing his hands on his comically inflated belly. He belched loudly, and Russell and Sunil grimaced in disgust as they finished their sweets.

"Oh, man, that was good!" Vinnie exclaimed, patting his belly a few times. "I'm so glad we came here!"

"Let's just hope you can pay for all that food you ate," Russell commented as he put his cup down and pulled out his wallet from his pocket.

Vinnie's eyes widened in surprise and he immediately sat up in his chair in alert. "What, what? You're paying for my food, remember?"

"Nnnooo...? You never asked me anything of the sort," the organized young man furrowed his brows. "Just because I _offered_ to pay for everyone's snacks that _one_ time, that doesn't mean it's an everyday thing."

As Russell spoke, Sunil had pulled out his magician hat from behind his back and his magic wand from under his shirt. He tapped his hat a few times before the contents exploded in his face, blowing his hair back and turning his face gray. After coughing up a cloud of smoke a five-dollar bill pops out of the hat and flutters down onto the table.

"B-But-!" Vinnie began, his eyes widened in panic.

He was interrupted by another young woman, a woman darker in skin color with a pale dress and hot pink markings on it. She wore white gloves and dress boots, and her white hair was held up in a whipped cream dollop fashion with a light blue bow. Her hot pink bangs hung over her face, and she wore multiple multicolored sprinkle-shaped pins in it. "Hy, boys. I hope you enjoyed your food."

"We most certain did, Sugar Sprinkles," Sunil smiled as he handed her his money. "Your pay for all your had work."

"Thanks so much, Sugar Sprinkles," Russell agreed as he gave her his money as well.

Sugar Sprinkles smiled brightly and took their money humbly before cooing, "Aww, you boys are so cute, thank you!" She turned to Vinnie, who looked up at her nervously, and she blinked in concern. "Didn't you enjoy your food, Vinnie? You look worried."

"N-No, it was great," Vinnie spoke hesitantly. "It's just I didn't really bring any money with me, so I can't pay for anything."

"You know our policy," the young woman sighed in sympathy. "If you can't pay for your food, you'll have to work it off."

" _What?_ " Vinnie's eyes flew wide open. "Can't I just owe you the money?"

"You mean _my_ money you plan on borrowing but never pay back?" Russell grunted with an irritated glare.

"Exactly!"

"I'm sorry, Vinnie, but it is what it is," Sugar Sprinkles pushed on calmly. "You'll have to clean the tables and run the register as Buttercream and I make more treats to sell."

" _But!_ " the young man began loudly, standing up and slamming his hands on the table, trying desperately to reason with the shop owner. Finally realizing his efforts were futile, he sighed in defeat and sat back down. "Okay, fine..."

"We are truly sorry, Vinnie," Sunil spoke softly as he and Russell stood up from their seats, "but we must be on our way if we're to catch the bus to Uptown City for the movie playing."

"No!" Vinnie wailed, leaping up immediately. "All three of us were supposed to go together with Pepper and Shivers! You can't just leave me! It's not fair!"

"If you had remembered to bring your money you would've been able to catch it with us," Russell retorted sternly. He couldn't hold back a look of sympathy in his eyes for his unfortunate friend, however.

"Can't you guys just go back to our dorm and get my money for me?"

"Didn't you spend it on that new pair of tap-dancing shoes you have now?"

"Well, yeah... Please, Russell, I'll pay you back, I swear!"

"No, you won't. You always say that and then you never remember, and when I remind you you deny ever borrowing money in the first place. I'm getting a little tired of it, Vinnie."

"Please..." Vinnie begged, now going so far as to get down on both knees and shaking his clamped hands together in a begging motion. Russell and Sunil both exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"We're sorry, Vinnie, but you need to learn how to take responsibility for your actions," Russell sighed, grabbing Vinnie by the arm and pulling him up to his feet. "Look, we'll all go see it again next weekend should I earn enough money working at Downtown Library to take us."

"C'mon, don't do this, guys..." Vinnie whined.

"Russell, if we don't move, we'll be late," Sunil suddenly spoke, pointing to his wristwatch.

"Right. Sorry, Vinnie, but you gotta learn to own up to your mistakes. We'll see you later." And with that, the two boys walked out of the shop.

Vinnie sighed sadly and walked slowly over to Sugar Sprinkles, who frowned at him in sympathy. "Okay, I'm ready to work... I guess..."

* * *

Saturday came and went, and it was Sunday afternoon. Vinnie was still working off what he ordered at Sweet Delights; the food he ate had added up to nearly fifty dollars, and he had to work the entire weekend to work off his pay. The young man was not happy at all, and he found it both boring and difficult, mainly because he would constantly be surrounded in delicious sweets but was forbidden to eat them unless he wanted to work next weekend, and then he'd have to miss the movie with his friends again. It wasn't worth it he finally decided.

Vinnie was cleaning the front countertop with a soapy rag, a small bowl of warm soapy water next to him. He was wearing a hair nit and a light blue apron from when he was helping Buttercream and Sugar Sprinkles may more sweets, and he found it really didn't go well with his trademark all-green style. He looked up when he heard the door open, and he gasped when he saw Russell and Sunil walking up to him.

"H-Hey, guys," Vinnie greeted hesitantly. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to check up on you," Russell replied.

"We also wanted to inform you that we did not make it to the bus stop in time," Sunil chimed in. "We just missed it. Seriously, it drove off just as soon as we ran up to the bus stop!"

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry, guys," Vinnie sympathized. "I know how much you two wanted to see it."

"Coincidentally, Pepper and Shivers couldn't make it, either," Russell added. "Turns out they had made a mess in Pepper and Zoe's dorm room and they had to clean up after themselves. They missed the bus by fifteen minutes."

"Sheesh, tough break. So... does that mean we can go next weekend?"

"I didn't spend my money, so we'll have enough to not only buy tickets but also buy snacks."

"Sweet!" Vinnie grinned. "So, did you guys wanna buy anything or something?"

"Nah, we just came to drop in and check up on you," Russell replied. "Well, tomorrow we have to take a benchmark test. Hope you're up for it."

Vinnie groaned loudly and hunched over the countertop as his two friends walked out of the sweet shop. "Great, I didn't get to do anything fun this weekend and now I have to take a benchmark test tomorrow..." I could really use some good news right about now..."

"Congrats, balats!" Buttercream's voice squeaked from behind him. "You worked off all you bought and the candy shop, pop!"

"No kidding?" Vinnie gasped. He whipped the hair nit and apron off and leaped over the table, sliding on his rear over it, and ended up slamming into the ground with a shout of pain. He leaped back up almost immediately and grinned. "Thank you so much! I'm so happy!"

"Thank you for helping us out today, Vinnie," Sugar Sprinkles smiled. "If you want, you can even apply here to work part-time. We'll be able to pay you."

"Uhh... Lemme get back to you on that," the young man grinned sheepishly.

"See you tomorrow in class, bass!" Buttercream chirped, waving her hand energetically as Vinnie made his way out of the shop.

"Don't forget, we have a benchmark test tomorrow," Sugar Sprinkles added, waving calmly.

Vinnie let out an exasperated sigh. "How could I forget?..."

* * *

"You ready for the benchmark test?"

"No! I am not ready for the benchmark test for the last time!"

Vinnie threw his hands up into the air to emphasize his point. Shivers - who wore an orange hoodie with multiple pockets, messy orange hair, and had buckteeth sticking out from his upper lip - recoiled a bit, and the young man sighed. "Sorry, Shivers, I'm just kinda stressed out. I didn't get a chance to study this weekend because I was working off something I ate at Sweet Delights all weekend."

"Oh, yeah, Russell and Sunil told me and Pepper about that," Shivers recalled. "It's a good think we're seeing it next week instead so you didn't have to miss it."

"Speaking of which, what did you and Pepper do to her and Zoe's dorm room?"

"What do you mean? We didn't do anything."

"But Russell and Sunil told me you two missed the bus to Uptown City because you had to clean up a mess, and they missed the bus because they stayed a bit too long at Sweet Delights on Friday."

"I dunno why they told you that because it wasn't true," Shivers shrugged. "Russell and Sunil asked us if we could push the movie to this weekend instead since you couldn't catch it. They didn't want you to be left out because of a mistake you made, and since you finally owed up to your actions they figured they'd, well, reward you by waiting to see it. Guess they told you that because they didn't want you to feel bad for them not going to the movies."

Vinnie eyes began to water and he sniffled a bit. "R-Really? They pushed back the movie date for me?"

"That we did, Vinnie," Sunil's voice spoke from behind. Vinnie turned to see him and Russell standing there smiling warmly.

"Oh, you guys are the best!" Vinnie exclaimed. He ran over to his two best friends and hugged them tightly, who hugged back.

"Don't mention it, Vinnie," Russell smiled before adding jokingly, "Just be sure you actually _have_ money before ordering a ton of food."

"Don't worry, I will!" Vinnie broke the hug and grinned at his three friends. "Now c'mon, you guys! We have a benchmark test to ace!"

As Vinnie walked away triumphantly to his next class, Shivers chuckled. "Wow, he must be in a really good mood if he's eager to take a test."

"You have no idea," Sunil chuckled as he and the others followed after.

And Vinnie miraculously made his very first B of the school year.


	2. Bully Dilemma

A couple weeks have passed since the Annual Spelling Bee. It was Tuesday now, and everyone was coming out of their dorm rooms or arriving to the university from home to attend class.

It was no surprise who won this year's Spelling Bee: Russell Ferguson. He had the highest grades and scored the best on every test. It was no wonder such a committed academic like himself claimed victory.

This year, he was almost beat by another student named Hunter McSunbask, who everyone called Wiggles. He had won the Spelling Bee two times in a row, and he was about to win a third until Russell managed to spell the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" correctly, gaining him the point needed to win the event.

Everyone noticed how bitter Wiggles was over his loss, and soon enough people began to see Russell less and less at the university. Even Vinnie and Sunil, who both live with him in the same dorm room, have barely seen him at all. They'd fall asleep at night without Russell returning home, and even when they wake up at six in the morning, he still wasn't there. Either he'd sneak in after the two fell asleep and left before they woke, or he just didn't go to his dorm altogether. Nevertheless, Vinnie and Sunil were very worried about their friend.

At the end of the day, the students went off to do their own things once they were dismissed from class, and Vinnie and Sunil immediately headed back to their dorm, hoping to find Russell there. Not to their surprise, he wasn't there.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," Sunil grunted after placing his text books on his bed. "We haven't seen Russell in three days now!"

"Do you think he's okay?" Vinnie asked worryingly. "Maybe he's been abducted by aliens! Or maybe those zombie mummies got to him!"

Sunil shuddered in fear. "Please don't bring those zombie mummies up! I'm already regretting watching that horror film, it's affecting my sleep and thus my note-taking in class... Anyway, I doubt any of that happened. Perhaps Russell's at Penny Ling's dorm or something?"

"Russell wouldn't set foot in that dorm, man!" Vinnie retorted. "He's always avoiding Penny as much as he can during class changes anyway, remember?"

"It's worth a shot." The Indian man made his way to the phone and dialed Penny's number, then placed the phone up to his ear.

"Well, while you're doing that, I think I'm gonna practice some of my dancing," Vinnie called as he slipped on his tap shoes.

"Oh, no, you're not!" Sunil snapped. "I've spent far too much money replacing my magical props that you broke with your clumsy dancing. If I have to spend another penny on replacing a broken wand..."

"Okay, fine, sheesh!" the shorter man yelled as he slumped down on his bed, pouting angrily as he crossed his arms.

"Hello?" Penny spoke on the other end once she picked up her phone.

"Hello, Penny Ling," Sunil greeted, turning his attention to his friend on the phone. "It's me, Sunil."

"Oh, hi, Sunil! How are you?"

"Eh, I've been fine I suppose. By chance, is Russell over there with you?"

"I'm afraid not... Um, speaking of Russell, is he okay? I haven't seen him for a while now."

"We're not sure. We were hoping he was with you."

"Oh, I see. Well, once you find out what happened to him, will you let me know please? I'm very worried about him..."

"As am I. Don't worry, I'll be sure you're the first person I talk to regarding his state."

"Thanks! Good luck finding him! Now, I'm sorry, but I need to get back to studying. I have a test tomorrow and it'll determine whether or not I get an A or a D in the class overall."

"I understand. Good luck. See you soon."

Sunil hung up the phone and placed it down on the counter before sighing. "He wasn't there..."

"Told ya," Vinnie smirked smugly, causing his best friend to roll his eyes in annoyance. "So, where else do you think he could be?"

"I haven't the slightest clue," Sunil admitted. "He could be anywhere in a city as big as Downtown. For all we know, he could be in Uptown City or even Midtown City."

"Hey, what time does Russell go to work at Downtown Library?"

"From two to six, why?"

"Well, it's three now, so maybe he's there working."

"Vinnie, you are a genius!" Sunil grinned as he hugged his shorter friend tightly.

"But, I don't live in a lamp..." Vinnie responded, confused.

"No, Vinnie. I said _genius_ , not _genie_. Oh, never mind, let's just get to the library."

"Okay." The short man slipped off his tap shoes and put on his green ones, then tossed his shoes behind him. As the two started out, a crash was heard, making them both jump. Vinnie grinned and chuckled nervously as Sunil glared down at him.

"You owe me a new magic wand..." he growled.

* * *

The two friends took the bus to the Downtown Library, and after purchasing a replacement magic wand at the thrift store using Vinnie's money, the two made their way to the library. They entered and looked around, unable to find Russell.

"Are you sure he's here?" Sunil whispered.

"Of course, this is his shift," Vinnie replied quietly. "Maybe we should ask Mr. Featherstone if he's in today."

The two young men walk up to the front counter to find a man wearing dark blue, turquoise, and green clothes, a tuft of dark blue hair on his head, and large brown glasses reading a book. He also sported a bowtie made out of peacock feathers. Vinnie rung the little bell on the counter to catch his attention and he looked up from his book, then grinned.

"Vinnie Terrio, Sunil Nevla, welcome," he grinned in a nasally voice. "It's been a while since I've last seen you two here."

"Hey, there, Mr. Featherstone," Vinnie smiled.

"Oh, please, you two know you can call be Basil. A friend of my number one worker's is a friend of mine. What can I help you two with?"

"We were actually looking for Russell," Sunil answered. "Is he in today?"

"As a matter of fact, he is," Basil replied. "I'm not sure where he is, but he told me he was going to reorganize the checked in books. I saw him heading towards the nonfiction section, so try looking there."

"Thank you," Vinnie and Sunil smiled in unison.

The two friends made their way to the nonfiction area of the library, yet there wasn't anyone in the entire section. They decided to split up and look in other areas, and in five minutes they made their way back to the nonfiction section as they had agreed prior.

"Can you find him?" Sunil asked.

"Nope," Vinnie answered with a heavy sigh. "Can you?"

"Unfortunately no."

"Well, if Basil said he's here then that means he's here. We just have to keep look-" Vinnie was cut off as he turned to walk off again, only to collide into someone else. The two of them fell over with a shout of surprise, and Sunil quickly rushed over to help his friend to his feet. "Oh, geez, I'm sorry, I didn't mean- ... _Russell?_ "

Russell stood up with a groan and began to pick his spilled books back up, but he stopped at the sound of Vinnie's voice. His eyes widened when he saw the two there. "Vinnie? Sunil? What are you two doing here?"

"We came looking for you!" Sunil answered. "Russell, how come you haven't been at the university?"

"Yeah, and how come we don't see you in the dorm, either?" Vinnie added.

"Um... I-I've just been falling behind in my work and I need to make it up, that's all," Russell answered hesitantly, not meeting their eyes as he resumed picking up his books. "I've been working late and I have to leave early, so that's why you don't see me in the dorm or at the university."

Sunil raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, of course!" Russell found himself raising his voice, and he winced at the shocked looks his friends developed. "Sorry... I'm just really tired... I'm sorry, I have to get back to work, I'll see you two later."

"Hold on!" Vinnie called, running up to the librarian before he could walk off. "I don't get it, you're always on top of absolutely everything."

"Vinnie is right, you'd never be this badly unorganized," Sunil agreed, walking over.

"Well, I guess there's a first for everything, huh?" Russell said absently before walking off again. "I'm _fine_ , okay? Now go home."

Vinnie and Sunil were about to run up to their friend again, but the way he spoke gave them the message that he really didn't want to talk. The two walked out of the library, more worried about Russell than ever.

They had approached the bus stop when Sunil began to speak again, "I do not care what he says, Vinnie. I know he's hiding something."

"You sure?" the shorter friend asked. "He seemed pretty sure of himself."

"Vinnie, Russell would never be that unorganized about anything, he's always on top of everything. And besides, he doesn't raise his voice at us unless we annoyed him, and with this scenario it's the annoyance of trying to hide something from us. We're going to find out what it is tonight, whether he likes it or not."

Vinnie grinned, finally catching his taller friend's drift. "Yeah! We're gonna impersonate him!"

"Vinnie, for the last time the word is _interrogate_ , not impersonate."

"Potato, tomato, whatever..."

Sunil grunted softly and rolled his eyes, then shook off his irritation. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking we should do..."

* * *

"Man, it's almost midnight and we have school tomorrow!" Vinnie groaned. "When is he gonna get here?"

"Patience is a virtue, my friend," Sunil replied calmly.

After discussing their plan, the two friends hopped on the bus to Littlest University, and they gathered the materials they needed to execute their plan: a chair some ropes, and a single feather. Currently, they were laying in their beds waiting for their friend to come home from the library.

"I ain't got no virtues, whatever those are," Vinnie huffed in exasperation. "I just wanna get this over with so I can sleep!"

"Keep calm and wait," Sunil retorted. "He will come."

The two of them waited about five more minutes until they heard someone walking closer and closer to the door.

"Here he comes!" Sunil hissed quietly. "Get into position!"

He and Vinnie both quickly got under their covers and rolled over, pretending they were asleep. They heard the lock on the door clicking as it was unlocked, and the door opened. They heard a yawn belonging to Russell and once the door was closed and the books were dropped on the ground, Russell collapsed in his bed and almost immediately fell asleep with light snores.

Vinnie and Sunil both sat up once they were sure Russell was deep in his sleep. They nodded, knowing it was time to get to work.

They crawled out of bed quietly and brought the chair from the closet into the middle of the room, then they worked together to slowly put Russell on the chair without waking him up. Finally, they used the ropes to tie his legs to the legs of the chair and his body and arms to the back.

"Should we wake him up?" Vinnie whispered.

"Yes. We need to get to the bottom of this tonight," Sunil replied softly. "I don't want to do this, however he's left us no other choice."

"I'll wake him up, then." Vinnie pulled out the feather from his pocket and began to wiggle it against Russell nose and cheeks, tickling him softly.

Russell groaned a bit as he tried to tilt his head away, but as the tickling continued he began to slowly wake up to the annoying feeling. Awake now, he growled in frustration and shook his head. "Stop it...!"

"Good to see you awake, Russell," Sunil greeted as Vinnie stopped tickling.

Russell opened his eyes and squirmed a bit, and that's when he realized he was tied up. He bolted awake in alarm and started to struggle fiercely. "Vinnie, Sunil! What is the meaning of this? Why do you have me tied up?"

"We're sorry, Russell, but we know something's wrong with you," Sunil explained.

"If you won't tell us what's going on, then that means we'll have to in... uh..." Vinnie jumped in, but began stammering as he tried to recall the word Sunil used earlier. "In... Interra... Interro..."

"Interrogate, Vinnie," Sunil sighed.

"Yeah! Interrogate!"

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Russell snapped, glaring at his friends. "I told you there's nothing wrong and I meant it!"

"We'll see about that once we're through with you," Sunil simply said as he picked up the remote for their television.

Russell looked at the electronic in confusion. "You're gonna interrogate me with a remote?"

"Partially." Sunil turned on the TV and pressed the "List" button, sending them to the recorded shows section. He began to scroll down, listing the shows out loud. "Shake-a-Leg... Legend of Shahrukh... Magic Acts... Oh, here we go! _The Duchess of Lancashire Lane!_ "

Russell gasped loudly as his eyes widened. "Wh-What are you gonna do?"

Sunil selected the folder for the show and smirked a bit. "What do we have here? An unwatched episode from last Saturday? Oh, how shameful it would be if... someone were to _delete_ it."

"Y-You wouldn't!" their tied up friend cried out, his eyes filled with panic. "That's the episode where the Duchess proposes to the Duke of Lancashire Lane! I _have_ to know if he accepts it or not!"

"I'm going to delete it," Sunil threatened, selecting the recorded episode and scrolling down to the "Delete" option.

"Please don't! I beg of you!"

"S-Sunil, I think we're going too far," Vinnie fretted quickly.

"Sometimes drastic measures must be taken if it means helping a friend," Sunil replied firmly. "I will delete it in three... two..."

" _Okay, fine, I'll tell you!_ " Russell finally wailed, giving in.

"Okay, talk, then," Sunil said, putting the remote down and walking over to Russell's side. He noticed his friend's eyes were glistening with tears and he winced. Perhaps he had gone a bit too far after all.

Russell paused for a few moments before finally speaking, looking up at his friends in what looks like fear. "I... I'm being bullied at the university..."

"What?" the two friends exclaimed in unison, their eyes widening in shock.

"But who'd ever wanna bully you?" Vinnie asked. "You're one of the best students at Littlest!"

"You remember the Spelling Bee?" Russell began, his voice cracking a bit. When his friends nodded, he continued. "Well, I won it as you all know. I... I took away the victory from someone named Hunter McSunbask - or Wiggles - who was going to claim his third win in a row. After I won, he began to make fun of me for being so smart, calling me a geek and an egghead, and he'd also insult my appearance and call me fat.

"It was getting more and more difficult to tolerate his insults, let alone concentrate in class. So... I started to avoid him at all costs, even if it meant avoiding certain classes. I got too scared that he'd find some way to skip class and come after me, so I stopped going altogether and just hung out at Downtown Library, where he doesn't know I work; if he did, he would've found me long before now.

"I didn't come home until after you were asleep and I left before you woke up so you wouldn't end up asking me about why you haven't seen me in class. I was too scared to tell anyone... I didn't want you guys to be attacked by him, never mind him going after me again and having him call me a tattle tail."

Vinnie and Sunil were completely silent when Russell finished. They had absolutely no idea any of this was going on. How could they have missed it? They thought he and Wiggles were friends, but in reality the two-time Spelling Bee winner was bullying him to the point of him avoiding anyone altogether. They knew they just had to do something to help.

"You know what you have to do, Russell?" Sunil finally spoke, making his tied up friend lift up his head, looking up at him through teary eyes. "You have to either tell a professor or confront him and tell him to leave you alone."

"B-But I can't!" he whimpered. "If a professor tells him he'll come after me again; it'll be even worse than before!"

"Then we'll confront him!" Vinnie jumped in confidently. "We'd be willing to do anything for our friend, and don't worry, we'll be okay. Right, Sunil?"

"Usually, I'd want to back out of a situation such as this, I do not enjoy being part of conflict," Sunil admitted. "But you're right, I'm willing to do anything for a friend."

"I can't ask that of you, and I won't," Russell tried to argue. "He'll verbally beat you two to a pulp!"

"Hey, I get called stupid and clumsy all the time, I think I can take a few more rubber chicken bonks to the head, so to speak," Vinnie grinned.

"No, I won't let you..." Russell pushed on. When Vinnie was about to argue, he added, "I won't let you... because I'm gonna do it. You're right, I need to toughen up and confront him myself. After all, as Zoe says, he eats and sleeps just like the rest of us, right?"

"If you insist on doing it yourself, we will support you all the way," Sunil smiled as he untied his friend and tossed the ropes off to the side. He then stretched out and yawned loudly. "But first, let's get some shuteye."

"Yeah, I'm pooped," Vinnie yawned, walking over slowly to his bed. He crawled in and brought the covers over his body, then almost immediately fell asleep.

Sunil chuckled and went to his own bed, but he stopped when he heard Russell ask, "Hey, Sunil?"

"Yes, Russell?"

"You... You weren't really going to delete that unwatched episode of The Duchess of Lancashire Lane, were you?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't do that to you. It was just an empty threat."

Russell smiled and chuckled a bit. He then walked over to Sunil and, after some hesitation, hugged him briefly. "Thanks, Sunil, for helping me even though I was being difficult. I'll thank Vinnie in the morning."

The Indian's eyes widened in surprise for this was very out of character of the librarian. His shock quickly dissolved into compassion and he hugged him back, smiling warmly. "Of course, my good friend. Now let's get some sleep, we have quite an eventful day ahead of us tomorrow."

* * *

Wednesday morning came quickly and the three friends left their dorm after getting ready for the day. They walked into the main hall and looked around, trying to find Wiggles. They had ten minutes until the bell rung, indicating the students it would be time to head for class.

Then, the front door to the university opened. The three turned to see a tall, muscular young man wearing green, wearing his dark green hair in a double mohawk, and sporting a chain with a gold tag on the end, walk through the doors. His intimidating dark green eyes scanned the area until his gaze fell on Russell, and he smirked as he walked towards him.

"Oh, no..." Russell whimpered, backing away a bit and trembling in fear.

"It's okay, Russell, we're here for you," Sunil reassured his friend, though he couldn't stifle a frightened gulp himself.

"Well, well, well, will yous look who it is," Wiggles sneered as he approached. "Little Fatty McGeek's finally back. I missed ya, little buddy - I had no one to insult with you away."

Russell trembled before the taller man and backed up a bit. "U-Umm... H-Hi, Wiggles-"

"That's Hunter to you, geek!" the man snapped, holding up a fist. "Undastand?"

"Hey, knock it off!" Vinnie couldn't help but jump in, throwing himself in front of Russell in a protective stance. "Why the heck are you bullying Russell anyway? He's a really great and helpful guy!"

"Because, shorty, this smart-alic stole my chance of winning the Spelling Bee three times in a row!" Wiggles growled, pushing him away and causing him to stumble back and trip over his own feet. "I was gonna make my ma and pa proud of me, undastand?"

"I... I'm really sorry about that..." Russell began weakly.

"If yous were sorry, yous wouldn't have competed in the first place!" Wiggles roared, throwing himself in the librarian's face. He yelped and threw up his hands to protect himself, and Wiggles saw a blue ribbon in one of his hands with the initials "SB" on it. He blinked in confusion before growling. "Whadaya have that for? Here to gloat about your victory?"

"N-No..." Russell replied quietly. He gulped before speaking a bit louder. "I... I wanna give it to you."

"You wanna give that... to me?"

"I didn't know how much it hurt you that you didn't win the Spelling Bee this year. I thought you were just bullying me because I was a nerd, but now I know it's because you were torn up that you couldn't make your parents proud and you decided to take your anger out on the actual winner. If I would've known that, I would've pretended to misspell that word so I'd be disqualified and you'd win. It might not mean much, but I want you to have the ribbon so you can have all three of them."

Wiggles didn't answer, his eyes just stayed wide open in disbelief. He couldn't believe it, but he was actually completely accurate - he was upset that he lost and he was taking his anger out on him because he won instead.

The buffer man took the ribbon in his hands and looked down at it, then looked at Russell. "After all I've done to yous... making you avoid school because of me... you still wanna give this to me?"

"You deserve it much more than I do," Russell said, smiling warmly, yet a small tint of nervousness was still seen in his eyes as he forced himself to make eye contact with his bully.

Wiggles looked back down at the ribbon, then up at Russell again, and finally he smiled. His smile slowly disintegrated into a frown as tears filled his eyes, and he then hugged Russell tightly. "I'm really sorry for bullying you! I was just really upset that I didn't win, but I never wanted to become my high school self and bully again! I'm really, really sorry, undastand?"

"I-I undastand..." Russell choked out. "N-Now can you let go? I-It's getting hard to breathe...!"

"Oh, sorry." Wiggles let his former victim go. "I really am sorry, though."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're not gonna bully me anymore to be honest."

"Of course I won't. From now on, yous and I are gonna be real good friends!" Wiggles hugged him one more time, making sure not to squeeze as tightly, and walked off.

"What did we tell you?" Sunil smirked playfully as he and Vinnie walked up to Russell, who rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Okay, okay, you were right. Thanks so much for helping me out today."

"No prob," Vinnie grinned. "Just be sure to tell us what's going on so we can help, okay?"

"You got it."

Just then, the bell for class rang, and the students started to file into different classrooms.

"Guess it's time to go to class," Russell observed. He started for his classroom and called back to his two friends, "See you after school!"

"See you soon!" Sunil and Vinnie both called back in unison as they headed for their own classrooms.


	3. Speak Up!

It was the day everyone at Littlest University was looking forward to ever since they heard about it during the beginning of the semester: Club Sign-Up Day. There were multiple clubs and organizations available, and everyone was excited to sign up for their favorite club and practice the thing they loved to do.

Sunil in particular was looking forward to Club Sign-Up Day. He had been looking forward to signing up for a club called _Yoga and Mindfulness_ so he could practice his meditation, and maybe he can even find enough calmness in the club to access the ability to use a magic trick he was eager to learn. It took major concentration, something he couldn't fully have with attending classes and living with a rambunctious Vinnie and a lecture-packed Russell.

During the lunch period, students were allowed to walk outside to booths set up by student presidents or founders of the groups, and others went up to sign for their favored group. Sunil quickly ran out of the building with Vinnie and Russell following more calmly.

"C'mon, you slowpokes!" Sunil called ecstatically to his friends.

"Slow and steady wins the race!" Russell retorted.

"No, it doesn't," Vinnie argued, furrowing his brows in confusion. "If you're slow, you're gonna be in last place. Sunil has the right idea. Hey, buddy, wait up!" He ran over to his taller friend, ignoring an annoyed sigh from the librarian.

"Well, while you two are off running and crashing into other people, I'm gonna go sign up for Book Club," Russell called to his friends. He went to walk off, but he couldn't hold back a skip of excitement before breaking into a run. Noticing, Vinnie and Sunil both let out a chuckle.

"I'm gonna go sign up for the Dance Team!" Vinnie grinned before running off as well. "Good luck, buddy!"

"Thank you, Vinnie, and may the best of luck be with you as well!" Sunil called back. He turned to run in another direction, looking for a booth that read _Yoga and Mindfulness._

At last, he came up to another area of booths and he grinned brightly when he saw the booth he was looking for. He started towards it, but stopped when he heard someone call out.

"Hey, you!"

Sunil looked around a bit, his brows furrowed, wondering if anyone was trying to catch his attention. He then heard, "Yes, you! The one in the blue sweater!", indicating someone was trying to catch his attention. He looked behind him and saw a young lady with a white and light blue dress and curled light blue hair grinning at him from behind a booth.

"Are you looking for me?" he asked hesitantly, pointing at himself.

"Yep!" the girl exclaimed as she gestured with her hand for him to come over. "C'mere, have I got a great deal for you!"

"Um, what kind of deal?" Sunil gulped nervously as he walked over to the booth. He flinched when the girl suddenly shot out her arm for him to shake, and he hesitantly shook it.

"My name's Casey Cottonpuff!" the girl introduced happily. "What's your name?"

"S-Sunil Nevla..."

"Well, Sunil, you look like you could be the perfect candidate for the Speakers Forum!"

"Speakers Forum? What's that?"

"It's a club all about public speaking and debating!" Casey held out a flyer to Sunil and he took it, looking at it curiously. "We're looking for new people to represent Littlest University in all kinds of debates and public speakings against our competition: Largest Ever Pet Shop! I just know you'll be perfect for this; you look as if you're bursting with knowledge!"

"Well, as I am quite knowledgable when it comes to certain things, I'm afraid I'm not interested," Sunil quickly spoke, handing the flyer back to Casey. "I want to sign up for Yoga and Mindfulness."

"But that club's boring!" the girl argued. "Here, there's all kinds of excitement and competition!"

"But I don't like too much excitement..." the Indian struggled to argue.

"C'mon, please? You'll really be helping us out!"

Sunil gritted his teeth and gulped nervously. He _really_ wanted to sign up for Yoga and Mindfulness; he's been looking forward to this ever since the first announcement of Club Sign-Up Day. But now he was being dragged into another club that he really didn't like. He wanted so very badly to say no, but he just couldn't if this girl desperately needed him in the club.

Finally, he sighed in defeat and grumbled sourly, "Fine..."

"Great!" Casey squealed. She quickly wrote down some instructions on a piece of paper and gave it to Sunil. "Be sure to arrive in the cafeteria day after tomorrow at five o' clock sharp!"

"Five o' clock?" Sunil exclaimed in shock. "That is much too early for me!"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Casey smiled optimistically. Her gaze suddenly darkened and she glared at him. "And you'd better be there by five o' clock sharp! One second late and the president, Lolly Pinkington, will eat you out like a starving dog eating a pile of freshly-cooked steak! She makes everyone who's late write down ten thousand times, "I will never be late to Speakers Forum ever again", and it's horrible! I was late to the club once and I had to write that down ten thousand times, and my hand still hurts! And that was two years ago!"

Sunil let out a horrified whimper as he trembled. "B-B-But I don't want that..."

"Then make sure you're there on time!" Casey finished, her cheerful grin returning. "Oh, I have another applicant I gotta see to! See you tomorrow, Sunil!"

As the girl turned her attention to another person, Sunil backed away slowly. He looked over at the booth he so badly wanted to register at, then looked back down at the paper he received from Casey, and finally sighed in defeat. Head hanging low, he slowly made his way back to the building.

* * *

"So explain to me once again," an Indian man wearing a white undershirt, blue jacket, a darker blue scarf, and a few ear piercings grunted as he raised an eyebrow at Vinnie, "how the heck you got into Dance Team."

"For the last time Shahrukh," Vinnie groaned as he rolled his eyes in annoyance, "I was told to dance to audition and that's what I did! I gave them a little jig and a twirl and a slide and a spin!" The shorter man preformed said moves respectfully, but during the spin he ended up crashing into Russell's bookcase, causing all the books to fall all over him.

"Vinnie!" Russell exclaimed as he stood up quickly. "I spent all night alphabetizing those by author!"

"Sorry, Russell," Vinnie grinned sheepishly as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Anyway, that's pretty much how I got in. Of course I didn't exactly crash into a bookcase, but the janitor's cleaning supplies instead. They still thought it was the funniest thing they've ever seen, and they liked my dance routine before the crash, so that's how they accepted me!"

"How strange, I never would've imagined someone as clumsy as you could get into anything," Shahrukh grunted as he turned his attention to his blue iPhone. "I suppose they just had pity for you."

"Nu-uh!" Vinnie retorted angrily.

"Anyway," Russell spoke quickly, trying to keep the two from fighting. "Shahrukh, what group did you sign up for?"

"Well, if you must know, I have signed up for the Yearbook Club," he answered, still looking down at his phone.

"Why did you sign up for that?"

"Because the members are responsible for taking pictures for the yearbook, and that includes selfies." Shahrukh held his phone up and grinned before taking a picture of himself and looking back down at it, then growled. "No, this will not do at all! Russell, you were in my shot! Could you please maybe scoot to the left a few feet? Thank you."

Russell rolled his eyes in irritation before standing up and walking to the other side of the room. As he went past the door, he almost collided into it when it suddenly flung open, a steaming Sunil standing in the doorway.

"Sunil!" Vinnie cried out happily as he stood up. "Guess what? I made it into Dance Team!"

"Oh, well, I'm oh, so happy things worked out for you!" Sunil sneered, rolling his eyes. He stomped in and shut the door behind him, stalking past Vinnie without even looking at him.

"Uhh, Sunil?" Russell began. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, Russell, I'm just _peachy_! Thank you ever so much for asking!" After mustering a fake grin at Russell, the Indian slouched down on his bed and folded his arms.

"Let me guess," Shahrukh grunted, still looking at his phone. "You didn't make it into Yoga and Mindfulness."

"What the heck is _he_ here for?" Sunil suddenly snapped at Russell and Vinnie, causing them both to flinch. "I don't need anymore negativity in my life! Shahrukh, get out of my dorm!"

"Russell and Vinnie invited me here," Sunil's older brother spoke calmly. "I'm not going anywhere until they say I can go home. I don't need to listen to you."

Sunil snarled, grating his clenched teeth together and narrowing his eyes into tiny amber slits of fury.

"U-Uh, Shahrukh, maybe you should leave," Russell spoke quickly. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Very well," Shahrukh simply said as he stood up and walked out the door. He poked his head back in before the door closed and added, "Could someone hand me my book bag over there?"

"Here, take your filthy book bag!" Sunil spat, grabbing his brother's book bag off of the floor and flinging it at him. He yelped and ducked to avoid being hit, and before he could retort Sunil slammed the door in his face and locked the door.

"Sunil, what the heck's wrong with you?" Vinnie exclaimed. "I know you can get kinda fed up with Shahrukh sometimes, but you've never been full-out nasty to him."

"What's it to you?" Sunil snapped, glaring at his best friend who yelped and backed away a bit.

"Sunil, seriously, what's wrong?" Russell jumped in, not flinching as the Indian glared at him, too. "You'd never act this way unless something happened that really upset you."

"I said everything's _fine_ , Russell!"

"Did you and Vinnie not just go so far as to interrogate me into telling you guys about me being bullied by Wiggles a few weeks back? Don't be a hypocrite now, Sunil. Tell us what's wrong."

"Okay, so now you're back to admitting what's wrong with your life?" Sunil sneered hostilely. "Sure, go ahead, it's not like _you_ had any problems with getting what you want! It's not like _you_ were forced into a club you utterly despise and are going to be forced to wake up at five in the morning and speak in public and be secretly judged by everyone and having to write ten thousand times over "I will never be late to Speaking Forum ever again" until your hand hurts two years later if you late by even _one damn second!_ " The Indian panted heavily, catching his breath, and glared at the wide-eyed Vinnie and Russell.

"You were forced to sign up for Speaking Forum?" Russell gasped.

"Did I stutter?" Sunil retorted sourly.

"Well, why didn't you just say no?" Vinnie asked.

"Because she needed me in the group, that Casey Cottonfluff or whatever the heck her name was! She wouldn't stop nagging me to join and... and..." Sunil's expression of fury suddenly changed into one of hopelessness, and his eyes began to tear up. "A-And I just couldn't say no... I just couldn't... Oh, what am I going to do?" He finally broke down into sobs and buried his face in his pillow.

"Oh, come on, Sunil, don't cry," Vinnie sympathized, placing a comforting hand on his friend's back and rubbing it a bit. "We'll help you figure something out."

"What is there left to do?" Sunil sniffled. "My chance of getting into the club I want to be in is now all gone! I don't want to speak in front of a crowd, I have horrible stage fright! And I don't want my hand to hurt from writing ten thousand times over!"

"I got it!" Russell suddenly exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "Tomorrow's Club Sign-Up Make-Up Day; it gives students who weren't here today a second chance to sign up for clubs. If you can tell this Casey you really don't want to be in the Speaker's Forum, you can still have a chance to sign up for the club you really want."

"But how?" the Indian fretted. "I'm not good at saying no! I'll never be able to do it!"

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time," Russell smiled assuringly.

"Time for what?"

"For practice, of course!" The librarian placed Sunil's magic table in the center of the room, along with two chairs, and sat down in one of them. "C'mon, sit in the other chair. Pretend I'm Casey trying to push you into joining the Speaker's Forum."

"I dunno..." Sunil sighed. "It seems kinda silly..."

"Be that as it may, it will help you. You want to get into Yoga and Mindfulness, don't you?" Russell smiled when his taller friend nodded. "Then come over here and practice."

"Okay, I suppose it is worth a try." Sunil walked over to the chair and sat down in it. "I feel kinda ridiculous..."

"Don't worry, Sunil, you'll do great!" Vinnie cheered on, hugging his best friend from behind. "Just tell Russell - er, Casey no and you'll be able to do it for real tomorrow!"

"Well, okay..."

* * *

Sunil practiced with Russell and Vinnie all afternoon and evening until it came around to almost eleven at night, which is when they went to bed. At six in the morning the next day, they resumed their practice for an hour more before they had to get ready for the day.

The whole while, Sunil would constantly give in to "Casey's" pleas, and the three friends would immediately have to start over once again. The Indian felt as though they were barely getting anywhere with his training, until finally he had had enough of repeating the same scenario over and over again, and he ended up snapping at "Casey", finally telling her no, albeit he was a bit rude about it. The impasse was finally shattered and they were able to make actual progress now, Sunil finding it easier and easier to say no and reject the offer into Speakers Forum. Sunil finally felt confident in telling the real Casey the next day he wanted to be in Yoga and Mindfulness instead.

The next morning, Sunil brushed up on the skills he had acquired the night prior with Vinnie and Russell before getting ready, and an hour later the three friends left their dorm and made their way to class. Throughout the day, Sunil could feel his confidence draining slowly out of his consciousness, and when Club Sign-Up Make-Up Day finally rolled around he felt his confidence drain out almost completely.

"Well, Sunil," Russell spoke as he and his other two friends walked through the crowd of people, "are you ready to get into the club you want to be in?"

"I-I don't know..." Sunil whimpered in reply, trembling all over. "What if Casey won't let me leave?"

"Then she'll have us to answer to!" Vinnie shouted. "If she tries to keep you in that club even if you don't want to, I swear I'll-"

"You'll do nothing," Russell cut off with a stern glance. "This is Sunil's battle to fight, not ours."

"Ugh, fine..."

"Come on, Sunil, let's find that Speakers Forum booth," Russell said, having to push his taller friend gently to get him to walk forward.

Whimpering, Sunil started to walk forward, looking through the flurry of people and booths, trying to spot the Speakers Forum booth with that annoying blue and white girl. However, at the same time he didn't want to find either one; he was too afraid to face his fears!

"There she is!" Vinnie suddenly exclaimed, snapping the Indian out of his thoughts. The suddenly loud voice startled him and he ended up screaming and leaping into the air a few feet, and once he regained his composure he followed his shorter friend's pointing finger to the same booth reading _Speakers Forum_ on the banner above, as well as Casey speaking to another person.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Russell smiled. "Go on, you can do it."

"B-But what if I can't?" Sunil gulped, trying to back away.

"Sunil, if you don't give it a try at least, you'll never be able to say no in the real world, and therefore you'll never be able to be happy. You don't want that, do you?"

"N-No, of course not."

"Then think of this as practice for when you set yourself off in the real world after we graduate. Come on, you can do it."

Gulping, unable to get down the large lump in his throat, Sunil slowly walked towards the booth. When Casey spotted him and squealed, "Hi, Sunil!", he whimpered and tried to back away again. He was stopped by Russell and Vinnie, who then gently pushed him forwards. Sighing, finding no easy way out of this, he walked up to the booth.

"Guess what, Sunil?" Casey grinned once the Indian made it up to the booth. "I told Lolly yesterday that you decided to join and she was super excited! However, I noticed she went out to buy a lot of paper and pencils, so I guess she was preparing for you to be late or something. I tried to tell her you wouldn't be late, but she said that she can't be too careful."

Sunil gulped, trying to stifle a loud whine of despair, and tried to stand up straight. "Um... Casey?"

"Yes, Sunil?"

"I... I'm afraid I can't join Speakers Forum."

"What? Why not? You already signed up for it, remember?" Casey picked up a clipboard with a paper clipped to it and shoved it in Sunil's face, nearly smacking him in the nose. The paper had a list of the names of other students who signed up for the club, and his name was among them.

"Yes, I understand that, but I wish to partake in Yoga and Mindfulness," Sunil replied, pushing the clipboard down and out of his face.

"But this club's much more exciting!"

"I understand that. I, however, am not even a thrill-seeker."

"Well, you'll never know for certain if you're a thrill-seeker or not unless you join the club!"

"I want to join Yoga and Mindfulness."

"But you already signed up."

"Then take me off the list! I want to sign up for something else!"

"But, Sunil, this club is right for you!"

" _I SAID NO!_ " Now furious, Sunil let out the loudest shriek he had ever mustered up before, not counting his screams, drawing a lot of attention to him. Conversations were put on hold as dozens and dozens of heads turned to look at the angry Indian. However, due to his fury, he hadn't even noticed how much attention he was drawing.

"Whoa," Vinnie breathed to Russell, his eyes wide as he stared at his best friend in shock. "I never knew he had that kind of volume in him."

"Me, neither," Russell replied, his eyes just as wide.

Casey blinked at Sunil a few times, shock sparkling in her wide eyes as well. Suddenly, she grinned. "Wow, that was a great voice! See? Speakers Forum is the right club for you!"

"Listen here, Casey Cottonfluff-" Sunil began.

"Casey Cotton _puff_."

"Whatever! I do not want to join Speakers Forum! How many times must I tell you this? I wish to join Yoga and Mindfulness! You are not my mother, therefore you cannot force me into doing something I don't want to do, so you had better get this through your thick skull: I am _not_ joining this club! Do I make myself absolutely positively one-hundred percent crystal clear?"

Casey opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but a furious glare from the Indian man before her told her otherwise. Instead, she sighed sadly. "Yeah... Guess you're right, I shouldn't force you into something you don't want to do. I don't know why, but I've been doing that with a lot of people lately. Guess I just really wanted people to face their fears of speaking in public, but I need to understand that no means no. In that case, Sunil, consider yourself dropped out of the club!" With a smile, the girl crossed off Sunil's name on the paper.

"I... I did it," Sunil whispered, his eyes widened in disbelief. He quickly grinned widely and turned to his friends. "Did you see that? I did it! I actually stood up for myself!"

"Great job, Sunil!" Russell cheered. "We knew you could do it!"

"Yeah!" Vinnie added. "Now quick, before Club Sign-Up Make-Up Day ends! Go sign up for Yoga and Mindfulness!"

"Right, be right back!" In a flash, Sunil sought out and ran to the booth of the club he desperately wanted to sign up for to begin with, and a few minutes later he ran back to his friends, bouncing ecstatically. "I got in! There was one last slot and I signed up for the club!"

For a brief, rare moment of overjoy - and a touch of immaturity for their ages - the three boys bounced around, shouting and squealing with glee for their tallest friend's success. Once they calmed down, Sunil hugged Russell and Vinnie tightly.

"Thank you so much for helping me out today, you two," he grinned. "You two are the greatest friends a guy could ever have!"

"Aww, don't mention it," Russell chuckled, his cheeks turning pink from the praise.

"No prob, buddy!" Vinnie hugged Sunil back, looking quite accomplished of himself. "We always have your back!"

"Well, I suppose it's time to go back to class," Sunil said as he heard the bell ring from the building. "Let's go back to class. I can't wait until tomorrow so I can enjoy Yoga and Mindfulness, even more so since I've worked even harder than expected to make it in the club!"

The three friends headed back to class, and the next day the three friends went off to their clubs, which took place thirty minutes before lunchtime.

Sunil had never had as much fun in his life as he had in Yoga and Mindfulness.


End file.
